LOS ANGELES -
University of Washington senior Jon Brockman has been named among the top 30 midseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award, the nation's most coveted college basketball honor, by The Los Angeles Athletic Club's John R. Wooden Award Committee.

Composed of the players who will compete for this season's player of the year award, the midseason list is based on individual player performance and team records during the first half of the season.

"We have nine players on the midseason list who were not on our preseason watch list," said Wooden Award Chairman Richard "Duke" Llewellyn. "That is indicative of the breadth of talent across the country. We look forward to following all of these players as we finish up the conference season and head into the NCAA Tournament."

The Big East leads the Midseason Top 30, tops among all conferences, with 10 players selected. The Pac-10 and ACC follow with five selections, followed by the SEC and Big 12 with three apiece, the Big Ten with two and the Horizon League and Southern Conference with one selection.

Nine players have been selected to the midseason Top 30 who were not on the preseason list.

Players who do not make the Midseason list are still eligible for the national ballot, which will be selected in March and will consist of approximately 20 players, chosen by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board Committee, who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA.

More than 1,000 voters, comprised of sports media members and college basketball experts from across the nation, will then cast their votes to determine both the 10-member All American Team and Player of the Year. In late March, the 10-player Wooden Award All American Team will be announced.

The 2009 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winners and the Legends of Coaching Award to Rick Barnes of the University of Texas, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of April 11-12.

About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), and Tim Duncan ('97) and last year's recipients, Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina and Candace Parker of Tennessee.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award's name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament.

For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact Christin Maxwell at 213-630-5231/woodenaward@laac.net or visit www.WoodenAward.com. Media may visit the website or contact Linda Reid at 310-291-9205/lindreid@aol.com.